Best Medicine Show set for Feb. 28

The Best Medicine Show, a variety show featuring performances from UAB medical students, will raise funds for Equal Access Birmingham.

Students from the UAB School of Medicine will take the stage Friday, Feb. 28, 2014 at the historic Alabama Theatre for The Best Medicine Show, an annual philanthropic event showcasing the students’ creative sides with short digital films, music and dance. Proceeds from the event go to Equal Access Birmingham, a student-run program that operates a free primary care clinic for underserved people in the Birmingham area.

The Best Medicine Show is an opportunity for students to poke fun at medical student life and showcase student talent through live singing, dancing and acting, along with pre-recorded video skits.

“Although medical students spend a lot of time studying, we also share interests in a wide variety of other activities ranging from athletics to the outdoors to the fine arts. There often isn't a convenient way in medical school for students to express creative talent, so the Best Medicine Show strives to be that outlet,” says Andrew Chou, a second year medical student and producer of this year’s The Best Medicine Show.

UAB School of Medicine students have put on the annual skit night for more than 20 years, expanding its audience beyond fellow medical students to family, friends, professors and the public.

“The show is an opportunity for students to create and perform, for classmates to cheer each other on, for teachers to see their students in a non-academic light and for the public to see that their future doctors have a sense of humor and creativity,” Chou says.

The show also gives students a meaningful opportunity to serve the Birmingham community by raising money for Equal Access Birmingham. Last year, students raised $13,500 and planned to create an endowment to help ensure EAB’s financial sustainability.

And though the performers may be poking fun at their own lives, the show’s organizers say there will be acts for everyone in the community to enjoy.

“The whole premise of the show is that laughter is really the best medicine. That’s what we're about: coming together as a community to have fun,” says Ignasia Tanone, a fourth-year medical student and head of the show’s creative direction committee. “I think it's great as a point of pride for Birmingham. UAB is the community’s medical school, its students and its future doctors, who are doing something amazing and fun at the same time.”

The show begins at 7 p.m. inside the Alabama Theatre, 1817 Third Ave. North, Birmingham. Doors open at 6 p.m. Advance tickets are $7 for students and $10 for general admission. All tickets purchased at the door are $15. The student discount for advanced tickets will extend to students from other colleges and universities.

An estimated 625 students will participate in the commencement ceremony, and 745 students will graduate. The university’s highest degrees will be conferred on 79 students from 18 states and seven countries in the doctoral hooding ceremony.

Students will present papers on topics as diverse as the Aztecs’ bloody past, the Egyptian goddess Isis, Charles-François Daubigny’s floating studio, a mask of the female Sande society and the representation of women in 18th-century French portraiture.

The UAB Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibition represents the culmination of a diverse and intensive program of undergraduate study and will feature illustration, photography and printmaking by Lucy Allen, Amber Gomez and Anna-Kate Marcum.

The Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions awards the Scholarship of Excellence annually to 12 students across the nation who excel in their academic programs and have significant potential to take on future leadership roles in health professions.

The Department of Music presents this annual favorite, featuring UAB Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, the UAB Trumpet Ensemble, choirs and ensembles from area high schools, and the Steel City Men’s Chorus.

Olatuja and her band will open the concert, and the UAB Gospel Choir will then join her in performing holiday-inspired songs. Olatuja also will lead a vocal master class with students in the choir. UAB students, employees, faculty and alumni may purchase $10 tickets.

UAB and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute hosted a panel discussion Tuesday night in a lecture hall full of students, faculty and Birmingham residents to talk about civil discourse after a heated election season.

Everyone’s looking for a little peace — and students have found it in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences, a growing hub for the study of peaceful societies, human rights, nonviolent conflict resolution, and related topics. Discover useful tips for defusing friction with family and neighbors, and learn more about the practical lessons of peace.

More than 35 music students and guest performers will tell the story of shepherd boy Amahl, who sees an enormous star and is met with regal visitors bearing gifts. The production features a full set, orchestra, costumes and more.

Department of Art and Art History students will give performances on sound effects added to film and pair images of artworks from across the 20th century to 12 corresponding items from the Department of Theatre’s historical costume collection.